Bamboo Airways to launch Munich service from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh

Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways signed an MOU with Munich Airport (MUC) to fly there from Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) and Ho Chi Minh’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN).

The airline said the nonstop routes will be launched in July with Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The HAN-MUC route will operate once weekly whereas SGN-MUC will be flown twice weekly.

The routes will be the second and third Bamboo operate to Europe, following the launch of 2X-weekly service from Hanoi to Prague’s Václav Havel Airport (PRG) on March 29.

“According to the MOU, Munich Airport will help promote conditions of the direct routes’ operation at a high level of safety and security,” Bamboo said in a statement.

“Information on air transport, travel industry, logistics and tourism projects between Vietnam and Germany will also be regularly exchanged and provided to support the development of the two routes.”

Munich Airport senior VP-aviation Andreas von Puttkamer said: “The new connections to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will give us direct access to this important future market for the first time.

“This is an excellent response to the steadily growing interest in Vietnam as a travel destination.”

Bamboo noted that 226,792 German tourists visited Vietnam in 2019, up 6% from 2018.

Fast-growing Bamboo—which launched operations at the beginning of 2019—operates 41 routes and plans to increase its network to 85 routes by the end of 2020, comprising 60 domestic routes and 25 international routes.

Aaron Karp

Aaron Karp is a Contributing Editor to the Aviation Week Network.